What’s With The Funny Shoes?

So this week Nancy and I started sporting some new footwear – Vibram Five Fingers –  and they have generated a lot of interesting conversation this week.

Those of you who have been in a Get Fit NH Bootcamp class with Dr. Dave have seen them before, and we credit him for the discovery. Dave runs in them, and turned us on to the book “Born To Run”, written by Christopher McDougall.  I can’t describe this book any better than Amazon.com does: “Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.”

Now if you know anything about me, you know that I have no love for running, on many levels. However if you insist on beating the snot out of your joints in this way (just kidding – sort of) do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

So if I am not going to run in them, you may be asking yourself, what’s the point?

It has everything to do with joint health and proper exercise mechanics. For those of you who are, ummm, mature enough, you probably remember “Chuck Taylor” basketball sneakers. They were (and maybe still are) popular again not all that long ago. Well “Chucks” are the preferred shoe for many powerlifters and strength athletes, particularly when squatting and deadlifting, as they have a flat sole and encourage proper lifting mechanics. The challenge with them is that they aren’t really good in a cross-training environment like bootcamp for the same reasons.

You see when we wear those fancy shoes that support our feet and arches in 900 different ways we can actually do more harm than good. Your body was designed in a very logical manner, joint by joint. As you move up the kinetic chain, each joint is designed to alternate between MOBILITY and STABILITY.

The ankle is designed to be MOBILE.

The knee is designed to be STABLE.

The hip is designed to be MOBILE.

The lumbar spine STABLE.

The thoracic spine MOBILE, etc…all the way up the chain.

So when we over-stabilize the first joint, the ankle, the next joint wants to “make up” that lack of mobility. Unfortunately that next joint is the knee, and stiff ankles often leads to sore and injured knees, which are now moving in a way they were not designed. This can also happen when the hips have less than the optimum mobility. By “freeing” the ankle joint to work properly, you very well may find your knees feel better! The same principle can apply to your lower back. Get the hips working optimally can help relieve low back pain. Pretty cool.

So what’s the solution? GO BAREFOOT! In fact when we opened the Epsom facility we discussed it being a barefoot gym. We decided for a few reasons not to go that route.

And then comes Dr. Dave and his Vibram Five Fingers. Perfect solution! When I heard Joe Kings in Concord started carrying them, we were all over it. (No, I don’t a make a penny from Joe Kings or Vibram)

So how’s it going after a week? I can tell you they take some getting used to; just getting them on takes awhile at first. The first two days my feet were sore – it was pretty apparent that my foot muscles were weak. Today is day five, and I hardly notice I am wearing them. They actually feel really good! I am already squatting better and lower than I was – which is pretty exciting for me.

Some of you have already joined us by training barefoot, and some of you already were. I would urge you to pick up a copy of “Born To Run”  and do a little research into this craziness yourself. One precaution – ease yourself into the barefoot thing. Running right away will cause you nothing but pain. Your foot needs to strengthen before you go nuts.

My biggest problem now? Nancy discovered they sell pink Vibrams – looks like she may have TWO pairs!

Make It Happen!

Dean